American Freebear
The American Freebear is a big man wrestler currently under the employ of SWAT Mid South and the first ever SWAT Mid South Heavyweight champion. His claim to fame is as one of the most, if not '''THE' most, aerially-gifted big men in the sport of wrestling; as displayed by his Bear Force One (top rope moonsault) finishing maneuver. He is, as he likes to say, "the only bear that flies". Origin Stuck in a dead-end job behind a desk at the local insurance company, a mountain of a man by the name of Waylon Reynolds was looking for a way out. Brought up on a college football sponsorship, Waylon actually did the responsible thing and applied himself in his studies, earning himself a steady albeit plain job for a big insurance group... Yet Waylon was still unsatisfied. Truth be told, Waylon always dreamed of touring the country and fly across the world since childhood, fed on aspirations from rock music such as his favored Lynard Skynard. Thus at the age of thirty-two, Waylon finally made the decision to quit his job and persue a career in pro-wrestling, watching the exotic locals from which the various programs aired from while thinking his great size would ensure him a position in any wrestling federation. Waylon quickly learned the harsh reality of wrestling schools. There, trainers tried repeatedly and with great pains to mold the big man into a competent grappler. However, Waylon had trouble learning even the simplest moves. Trainers were at their wit's end and about to throw out the 330+ pounder when, out of the blue, without anyone expecting it, Waylon managed to execute a friggin' top rope MOONSAULT while in self-practice!!! Everyone was astonished!! Waylon was simply attempting to imitate a previous wrestler's maneuver and amazed everyone with an unbelievable MOONSAULT! Naturally, this changed everything. Although the moonsault was sloppy, Waylon impressed the class and earned the admiration of his peers. Fed by their praise, Waylon practiced his moonsault over and over again until it was a thing of beauty! He started enjoying those high-flying maneuvers and trainers soon realized they had quite the aerially-disposed big man at their disposal, executing dropkicks and cartwheels on command. Waylon similarly rejoiced: never would he have imagined his place in the wrestling world would be as a high-flyer, and he enjoyed the exhiliration that comes with each and every high-risk maneuver. Now his passion is to fly, fly free, not like a tiny bird, but as the huge bear-like creature that he is. Two years later, he adopted the name from the song of his youth and became... the American Freebear! Wrestling Career Hardkore South The American Freebear has made his debut in this Southern territory, defeating in decisive fashion both Vida and Big Daddy Kool; no small men themselves. In each fight, Freebear managed to pull off his Flying Freebear for the victory to the shock and awe of the crowd. However, his third fight against Levi Watts ended in a controversial fashion as the fans were unsure whether Freebear kicked out after the three count or not. A rematch has been signed between the big bull of Boon County and the American Freebear, with the consequence being the building of a new team between the two bearded giants. Dubbing themselves the "Big Fat Fuckers" (or BFFs, for short), Levi Watts and the American Freebear have spread a path of carnage throughout the world, winning the Hardkore America Tag Team titles from the Bozzinni Brothers for the region. Hardkore America The American Freebear was given a position in the Hardkore America region by Johnny Valentine himself following the Hardkore Helloween event in Cleveland. It seems that the Freebear caught a few eyes as he was one of the more dominating wrestlers of the show, eliminating "The Coolest Muthafuckah on the Planet" Jeremiah Young, Suikerbossie and Lupus Nebula; not to mention performing his Flying Freebear on both Ralph Pierce and Rage David Sadler. As one half of the BFFs, he has entered the Frank Marano tag team tournament along with partner Levi Watts and performed succesfully into the quarter-finals, with a loss to the team of Kilroy Evans and Andrew Karnage, the Miracle Violence Connection II. The American Freebear left Hardkore America after a loss to Poke the Clown. The Hardkore America Tag titles were bequeathed to the team of Legacy and Requiem. SWAT Mid South Formed as a continuation of the Hardkore South region (same fedheads, many of the same handlers), the American Freebear entered the new territory as one of the 16 participants in the inaugural Ernie Hamilton tournament of 2008. Freebear actually ended up winning said tournament, defeating (in order) Waspman, Kross, Soutter and finally the Sensationnal Eric Herrera, despite a gang beating by the KGB (Soutter's stable) during his semi-final battle. To this date, his 6 foot tall Ernie Hamilton cup represents the greatest wrestling honor the American Freebear has earned in his career. Losing his title at Christmas Kaos to Eric Herrera did not faze him so much as having his finishing maneuver kicked out of! A similar situation occured at the Season's Beatings Battle Royal, with him executing his famed moonsault over Barbwire Ken... With Ken still winning the rumble! The author of this wikia would like to point out that a 320+ pound top rope moonsault is one of the most bone-crushing finishing maneuvers in the sport of professional wrestling and should not be kicked out of, if not survived through altogether! The American Freebear, participating in the Mid-South's annual St-Valentine's Day massacre event made training and improving his moonsault (now called Bear Force One) his number 1 priority. He was rewarded at Battleground in North Carolina, where he defeated Eric Herrera during his rematch to reclaim the SWAT Mid-South heavyweight title; after both he and his opponent were pinned down from an electric chair drop, but with only Freebear's foot underneath the ropes (and thus ineligible for pinning). The author would like to know how you end up with a foot underneath the bottom rope after an electric chair drop coming down from the corner, but a win's a win. Cross promotional appearances Season's Beatings Battle Royal Entering the rumble with a head of steam, the Freebear managed to eliminate Anatoly Malakehi, perform his top rope moonsault on both Barbwire Ken and the Arizonian before being pushed out of the ring by "Second Generation" Vile Vince Viper while attempting the maneuver a second time, taking on a whole bunch of wrestlers with him. Appearence Physical description American Freebear is a wild-eyed, heavy set individual with wide shoulders and huge massive arms for smashing. Chestnut brown hair: his arms are hairy, his chest is hairy, his eyebrows are bushy and his head looks like a goddamn follicle explosion; imagine Claudio Sanchez from Coheed and Cambria and you have an idea, add a mid-length beard running all along the jaw (no mustache) and you start having a picture of him. Thighs are huge and unweildy for kicks, but effective for all other purposes. Has purple flame tatoos running along both biceps. Costume While wrestling, Freebear wears a blue star-spangled singlet with white trim ending in red half-tights with white trim. Hard rubber elbow and kneepads are specifically designed to absorb the impact from repeated moonsault, and boots are similarly customised to be thick but flexible keeping with Freebear's aerial nature. He also favors big red-white-and-blue striped sweatbands over the wrists. Freebear enters the ring wearing a size XXXL flight jacket with decorative airplane pins on the breast. The name "FREEBEAR" is displayed proeminently across the back in bedazzled letters. Entrance bear roar rings throughout the arena as the opening chords of Lynard Skynard's classic "Freebird" plays through the loudspeakers. Stepping through the walkway is a HEE-YUGE mountain of a man, arms outstretched to the fans, waiting for the spotlight to shine upon him!!! He crouches low near the entrance ramp with both fists touching the ground; before rising up to his full height shouting a thunderous bellow! RA: From Jacksonville, Florida! Standing in at 6' 4" and weighing THREE HUNDRED and THIRTY-EIGHT pounds.... He is known as the Flyin' Ursine, he is the one of a kind... AMERICAN FREEBEAR! THE ONLY BEAR THAT FLIES!!!! crowd pop for the Moondog with the Moonsault! The American Freebear thus makes his way to the ring, bringing up his massive hand to high five his fans as he passes them by. A slow ponderous walk, Freebear stomps with every step, taking time to pose with some of his more cub-like fans, big monstrous grin shining for the camera! With a full pan around the Freebear we get a look at the flight jacket, the red-white-and-blue singlet, the massive roaring face full of beard! He STOMPS up the ring steps before removing his jeweled jacket, pointing a single finger high in the air... Because tonight, the crowd will get to witness the Freebear soar! Wrestling Style Wrestling Background Powerhouse big man with high-flying proclivities: The bulk of the American Freebear's wrestling style remains surprisingly orthodox, with most of his grappling knowledge passed down from good ol' Southern grapplers with no love for the current Rock N' Roll era. Strengths *'Big:' Freebear's size advantage over most other pro-wrestlers is undeniable, and he knows just how to take advantage of his considerable girth in battle: both as a powerful weapon and a tool to hinder his foes. *'Strong:' This ain't all just babyfat! The American Freebear is a sizeable power-wrestler who enjoys tossing cruiserweights around! His arms in particular are mighty enough to toss opponents like so many sacks of potatoes, or to crush the air of anyone unlucky enough to be caught in a bearhug. *'Athletic:' His main claim to fame is as one of the most, if not the most aerially-gifted big men in the business! Give him a turnbuckle and he'll leap, a running start and he'll dropkick- and there's nothing he likes more then interrupting his own matches with a cartwheel out of nowhere! Weaknesses *'Overenthusiastic:' The American Freebear likes to fly so much he'll take a flying leap when it would be strategically unsound! The Freebear's judgement is often put into question; but when you're a 338 pound bruiser who just learned he could fly, wouldn't YOU want to soar through the air at any occasion? *'Technically Weak:' As you can guess, technical wrestling really isn't the Freebear's forte. Freebear's typical offense can often be described as "dropdead basic", but the Flyin' Ursine typically finds a way how to turn even a humble bodyslam into a mighty painful maneuver. *'Late Bloomer:' The case with the American Freebear is that he started wrestling after passing 30 years of age, already having made his living behind a desk. He's far from the youngster dominating the wrestling scene, without having the veteran status other wrestlers his age would possess. Wrestling Moveset Finisher *'Bear Force One' (Top rope moonsault) Signature Moves *'Ursine Destroyer' (A "Trevor Murdoch" like front-flip piledriver/powerbomb) *'Heavy Dropkick' (as performed by a 338 pound man!) *'Cartwheel' (no practical application. Something he busts out every so often) Regular Moves *Bear Claw Swipe (open hand slap) *Stungun headbutt *Bodyslam *Headlock takedown (and hold) *Big shoulderblock *Spinning high mule kick to the face *Flying back elbow (à la Devon Duddley) *Corner running crossbody block (lands on the apron) *Thrown into the corner, jumps off second turnbuckle and twists into Lou Thez press *Bear Raid Crash (High speed face-first baseball slide to the outside) *Tumbling Bear (Opponent prone, Freebear does a forward roll over their body) *Trapezius claw hold *Circus Bear Cradle (Rolling stretch cradle, Jalapeno Roll: the idea being that anyone forced to support the heavy Freebear as he rolls around the ring would tire in a hurry!) *Bearhug *Sidewalk slam *Samoan drop *Reverse russian legsweep (against bigger opponents) *Overhead toss *Belly-to-back suplex *Jumping over-the-shoulder reverse piledriver Rare Spots These moves are rare crowd pleasers that the American Freebear occasionaly brings out to amaze the fans. These are NOT part of his regular moveset, but incredible maneuvers meant to leave the audience breathless and in a state of disbelief. *'Grizzly Hammer' (a top rope frankensteiner!) *Top rope flying crossbody block to the outside (preferably on as many targets as possible) *Missile dropkick from the top turnbuckle Tag Team Maneuvers These moves are typically done with the aid of 361 lbs Levi Watts, the only wrestler big enough to help pull off such titanic maneuvers! *Opponent in corner, Levi drops to all fours while Freebear propels himself, leaping off Levi's back into a flying leg lariat. Freebear does a little jig with some finger-shooting afterwards. (Thought to be a secret wrestling technique learned in the hidden steppes of North Carolina!) *Slingshot catapult by Freebear, running Vader clap by Levi as the opponent is vertical. *'Barn Stomper' (tag team finisher): Levi Watts executes his Boone County Drop (delayed high angle backbody drop) right before the American Freebear finishes them off with the Flying Freebear (330+ pound moonsault!). Accomplishments *Second place, Rookie of the Year 2007, Hardkore World *Fourth Place, Rookie of the Year 2007, EWRT *Hardkore America Tag Team Champion, with Levi Watts *Hardkore Mid South Heavyweight Champion (2 times) CURRENT *Winner of the inaugural Ernie Hamilton tournament 2008 center|SWAT MidSouth Heavyweight title Quotes *"...and this bear you cannot change!" *"...the American Freebear is the only bear that flies!" Trivia *The team name of Big Fat Fuckers (The BFF's) was changed to the Hellbillies post-Frank Marano, due to the fedhead finally objecting to the offensive content. Because Freebear and Watts never fought together since then, the team name is left unused. *The American Freebear already hosts his own segment down in SWAT MidSouth! It's called Freebear's Big Beef, where the American Freebear sits behind a dinner table and chews down on a big hunk of meat still attached to the soupbone, while venting about everything that annoys and vexes him. It's a sure hit! (No guests as of yet). *The real name of the American Freebear was changed from "Madison Rockbury" to "Waylon Reynolds" so as to free the previous name up for another of the handler's character: "Monster Madrock". More to come on this revamp of an old character... American Freebear